Cast iron bath removal

danrv

FreeBear said:

Cast iron, when it breaks, will have a grey crystalline appearance. It doesn't usually take that much force to break the stuff.. You might have a pressed steel tub there which will be a right pig to smash up - Oxy-propane cutting torch or a 9" grinder will get through it.

Thanks.
Would save a lot of effort once I find out what it’s made of. The hammer does seem to bounce off. 
I’ve haven’t removed a bath before but I remember a plumber smashing one up at my previous house. Didn’t take long at all. 
The 8-9mm thick edge suggests cast iron but it doesn’t seem to be brittle.

FreeBear

danrv said: The 8-9mm thick edge suggests cast iron but it doesn’t seem to be brittle.

Look at the area around the plughole. If it is a pressed steel tub, that spot should be much thinner. You can also drill a few holes in the side to see how thick it is.

Another test is to put a grinding disk on it. The sparks coming off gives a fairly good indicator - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark_testing

danrv

FreeBear said:

danrv said: The 8-9mm thick edge suggests cast iron but it doesn’t seem to be brittle.

Look at the area around the plughole. If it is a pressed steel tub, that spot should be much thinner. You can also drill a few holes in the side to see how thick it is.

Another test is to put a grinding disk on it. The sparks coming off gives a fairly good indicator - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark_testing

Thanks. It’s cast iron.
Have borrowed a sledge hammer and it’s starting to break up. Needs to be cut first though with an angle grinder to weaken it.

danrv

All done. Borrowed a big sledge hammer. 
Just couple of small dings on the copper piping but I may replace this anyway.
Thanks for the replies.